Authors Rally to Support Japan, Wesley McNair Appointed Maine Poet Laureate, and More

Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today's stories:

A group of authors has launched a literary auction to benefit Japan in the wake of the earthquake and tsunamis. (Guardian) Check out Authors for Japan, where the bidding has already begun on the chance to star in a short story by author Miranda Dickinson, among other literary lots.

The CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Barry O'Callaghan, resigned on Tuesday after less than two years in the post, according to the New York Times. CFO Michael Muldowney will replace O'Callaghan on an interim basis.

Britain's Ministry of Defence has purchased and pulped the entire twenty-four-thousand book print run of a nonfiction title detailing British military operations in Afghanistan. The book had already been approved through a four-month review process conducted by the Ministry, but further changes were deemed necessary on the eve of publication. (Telegraph)

Wesley McNair has been appointed the poet laureate of Maine by the state's governor, Paul LePage. (Morning Sentinel)

Author James Ellroy has been awarded the French Order of Arts and Letters by France's culture minister, Frederic Mitterrand. (Jacket Copy)

Random House has acquired a new book by Al Gore about the future of American society, economics, and politics, set to be published in 2012. (Publishers Weekly)